Annual scholarships help further education for students who have their careers down to a Science

Published: Tuesday, October 27, 1998

RAY WESTBROOKAvalanche-Journal

The Lubbock Chapter of Achievement Rewards for College Scientists will honor its 1998-1999 scholars during a reception and dinner at 6:15 p.m. Nov. 5 in the Baker Conference Center of Lubbock Christian University.

James E. Sowell of Dallas, a regent of Texas Tech, was chosen as keynote speaker for the program.

The Lubbock Chapter of ARCS has contributed $783,800 to 492 students since it was organized in 1972.

Scholarship funds raised by the group go to students studying in the fields of medicine, engineering, mathematics and the natural sciences.

The scholarships are reserved for students who are citizens of the United States. When ARCS was formed at the national level, it reflected a reaction to the Soviet Union's seeming lead in the space race, according to chapter officers.

Nancy Tarwater, president of Lubbock ARCS, said a group of women in Los Angeles founded the organization because they perceived the United States was falling behind in science.

''They took it on as a personal mission to address that issue. The organization has grown, and our mission is to recognize outstanding scholarship among natural science, mathematics, engineering and medicine scholars.''

She said the U.S. citizenship requirement was a part of the original purpose of ARCS. ''Their thinking was we can best address science advancement in the United States by the education of students who will in all likelihood stay in the United States. Their sole purpose was the advancement of science in the United States.''

Some of the top undergraduate science students at Texas Tech and Lubbock Christian University are chosen each year to receive $2,500 scholarships, and graduate students are picked for $5,000 scholarships.

Dalton Tarwater, mathematics professor at Texas Tech, said the scholarships have been extremely significant to some of the students.

''In some cases, it made the difference in whether they stayed in school or not,'' he said. ''And in many cases it has let them afford a new computer that they couldn't have gotten otherwise.''

Students who get a degree in mathematics typically have a variety of career options, according to Tarwater.

''Our alumni are working for software and hardware companies around the country; they are working in aerospace companies; with oil companies; and some of the latest jobs have been with actuarial firms,'' Tarwater said.

He said more than 20 math students have received support from ARCS since the Lubbock chapter was formed.

Monika Shepherd, a math major who maintains a 4.0 GPA at Tech, said the ARCS scholarship has been very important to her. She plans first to complete a degree in mathematics, and then continue studying in her current minor field of computer science until she receives a master's degree in it.

''Being an ARCS scholar is a wonderful opportunity,'' she said. ''Through their generosity, their foundation has not only given me the chance to complete my undergraduate degree in mathematics, which will be happening in May, but they also have exposed me to a network of scholars who are interested in a wide variety of sciences.''

She is interested in the mathematics software that is available now.

''I want my mathematics degree to be used toward something along the lines of programming. I think math and computer science relate really well to one another,'' Shepherd explained.

Ten graduate and four undergraduate students are receiving scholarships from ARCS this year for a total of $60,000.

By way of contrast, $100 was given to each of 10 scholars at the first Scholarship Awards Dinner in 1973.

The Lubbock chapter was recently given approval by the national organization to begin providing M.D./Ph.D. program scholarships. Approval must come from the national ARCS board before local chapters can begin funding scholarships for a particular department.